Student drowns at Camps Bay beach

Cape Town - A teenage university student from Bloemfontein appears to have drowned after being swept off rocks at Camps Bay in Cape Town, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Sunday.

NSRI Bakoven duty crew were activated by the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) at about 4.15pm on Saturday following eye-witness reports of at least six people swept off a rock by waves at Maidens Cove, Glen Beach in Camps Bay, NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said.

"NSRI rescue swimmers in the vicinity at the time responded directly to the scene and the NSRI Bakoven sea rescue craft Rotarian Schipper and the NSRI Table Bay sea rescue craft Spirit of Day and Spirit of Vodacom were launched," he said.

An NSRI Table Bay rescue vehicle was also dispatched and Cape Town fire and rescue services dive unit, community medics, Western Cape government health emergency medical rescue services, law enforcement, the SA Police Service, the AMS/EMS Skymed rescue helicopter, and ER24 ambulance service also responded.

When NSRI rescue swimmers arrived on the scene they found bystanders had assisted a woman, aged in her late teens from Bloemfontein and believed to be a student at a Bellville university, out of the water from in among the rocks. The bystanders had initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts and an NSRI rescue swimmer continued with CPR on his arrival.

"Other bystanders were assisting those swept off the rocks out of the water after they had also fallen in between the rocks by waves," Lambinon said.

Paramedics and emergency services arriving on the scene continued CPR efforts before she was transported to hospital by ambulance, with paramedics still continuing with CPR in the ambulance. On arrival at hospital, doctors and nurses took over but after all efforts to resuscitate the woman were exhausted she was declared dead by doctors. Police had opened an inquest docket.

Two of the other people swept off the rocks, friends of the dead woman, were not injured and it appeared that the other people swept off the rocks had managed to clamber back up the rocks and out of danger and they were also not injured.

"Eyewitnesses described seeing six people standing on a rock close to the water's edge in the incoming tide and the eyewitnesses, from Tamboerskloof, watched as a wave swept over the six people washing them off the rock. The eyewitnesses raised the alarm immediately. NSRI and emergency services express condolences to the family of the deceased female," Lambinon said.
African News Agency